South Sudan resumes oil exports via Sudan after pipeline repair

April 30, 2025 (JUBA) – South Sudan has resumed oil production and exports via Sudan after repairs to a pipeline damaged amid Sudan’s internal conflict, officials said, a move vital for the Juba government’s finances.

The resumption follows a halt forced by a pipeline rupture in Sudan, where internal conflict that erupted in April 2023 disrupted operations. Sudan declared force majeure on its oil exports in March 2024 after the damage halted flows, severely impacting South Sudan’s economy, which relies on oil for approximately 98% of its budget.

State broadcaster SSBC announced on Monday that the damaged pipeline section had been repaired, allowing operations in Blocks 3 and 7 to resume on January 8, 2025.

The fix followed negotiations involving the Sudanese government, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), factions that control the territory the pipeline traverses. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Sinopec, and South Sudan’s Tri Ocean facilitated the talks, according to the SSBC report.

Mohamed Lino, a technical adviser at South Sudan’s Ministry of Petroleum, hailed the resumption. “This is good news because we in South Sudan have faced difficulties since last year because of the loss of the flow of crude oil,” he said in remarks broadcast from Port Sudan.

“But with dedication, we were able to bring this back now… We hope that our discussion today will contribute to the betterment and improvement of the industry,” Lino added.

Lino congratulated the Bashayer Pipeline Company (BAPCO), which operates the pipeline infrastructure within Sudan, including the export terminal at Port Sudan. BAPCO is described as an international company owned by Sudanese entities and incorporated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specifically in Dubai.

“I take this opportunity to congratulate BAPCO for the significant achievement… having the crude oil from South Sudan reach the marine terminal safely and be ready… for export,” Lino said.

Sudan’s acting Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mohyeldin Naeem, attributed the problem in March 2024 to a “gelling incident” – effectively a clog – in the pipeline. In a letter dated March 16, 2024, he stated that the rupture occurred in RSF-controlled territory near the frontline in White Nile State after pump stations operated by BAPCO ran out of fuel due to nearby military operations.